PERSONA 4: 2つのワイルドカード。
by Req-Hime
Summary: Get up on your feet, tear down the walls  Catch a glimpse of the hollow world  Snooping 'round town will get you nowhere  You're locked up in your mind...  We're all trapped in a maze of relationships  Life goes on with or without you
1. Chapter 1

_Ding, ding, ding, ding_…A cry to many of hopeless hearts. On such days, when the fog covered the land where it blinded even the sharpest eye, there seemed little hope for the fools. One such fool was Yuuki, Austria.

Hopelessly she attempted to run through the dense, white fog. She sighed and stopped, figuring she would be late no matter how much running she did. Not to mention it would save her from bruising, bumping into pole after pole. Austria continued to slowly work her way through the endless blur. "Uwaaaah!" followed by a crash, that's all she could hear. Yet…the voice sounded familiar. "H-Hanamura-sama?" She questioned. A figure came into focus; sure enough it was Hanamura, Yosuke.

Yosuke was Austria's friend and classmate, someone she'd met six months back when he'd transferred from the city for his parents' work. She was one of the few people not to judge Junes becoming so popular, often saying "Junes isn't running companies out of business! People choose where to shop, so don't blame Junes or Hanamura-sama!" trying to defend him, although indirectly embarrassing him at the same time. He was dear to her heart; she was never going to let him go…

It was a Monday, not her favorite day of the week but the chance to be with Yosuke always made it better. Well…Yosuke or Ichijou, Kou. Kou was her classmate the previous year, and part of the basketball team she managed. "Th-This is not the time to be thinking about this!" Yosuke raised an eyebrow in confusion and laughed, "You're so weird. Hop on; we only have three minutes 'til we're late." Austria hesitated at Yosuke's offer, for it wasn't like he was the best cyclist she'd ever met. None-the-less, she wouldn't need a blemish on her attendance so early on. Austria sat on the back of the bright yellow bicycle and wrapped her arms around Yosuke's torso. Quickly they were on their way with the wind whipping her hair against her face fiercely.

One minute left, after Yosuke threw his bike to the side, the duo dashed to class. They skidded in, and right as they sat, the final bell sounded. Austria felt relief wash over her body. Then a thought popped into her head and she had the urge to tell Yosuke, "Hey, Morooka isn't on our case…Odd right? He is soo…UGH!" Yosuke chuckled, "Don't jinx it, ha...It is our first day." She nodded in agreement. No sooner had she finished than the teacher walked in, a student she'd yet to meet followed behind quietly. "Silence!" the older man yelled. "I, Mr. Morooka, am your new homeroom Teacher from today!" Austria prepared herself for "King Moron's" infamous speeches.

"I know its spring and love is in the air. But I will not tolerate association the opposite sex. I'll be watching over you like an eagle to make sure you live the life of proper students!" Yosuke made an exasperated sound, "Ok Then. Let me introduce a new student; a troubled youth who has transferred to this small rural town from the big bad city. He is a delinquent you understand? You girls shouldn't flirt with him!" Austria held back a giggle, her only thought being "Psh, flirt with him? Umm…No thanks. He's nothing as beautiful as Hanamura-sama or Kou-sama!" A blush lit up her cheeks at a thought of kissing either, "Urk." She slipped, Yosuke looked at her oddly, and she blushed crimson in embarrassment. "Seta-san, introduce yourself."

The silver haired boy paused, "Who are you calling a delinquent?" Morooka's face burned, "What are you, in your rebellious phase? Alright! Your name is now in my list of rotten students" He took a breath, "You're in a new place now so leave your bad ways in your old home. Don't think you can misbehave and pickup girls as you please here! …Kids these days are worst than those in the past don't you think? All of you with your cell phone dating..." He rambled on, Austria's interest fading.

"Teacher, The new transfer student can sit over here right?" Austria perked her head; it was Satonaka, Chie who had spoken so boldly. Austria didn't personally know Chie, but she did sit behind the girl who always wore a bright green warm-up jacket that was far out of uniform policy. "Oh? I see. Okay, now your seat will be over there next to Satonaka-san. Go ahead and take a seat quickly!"

Chie continued to whisper to the transfer student. "Be quiet, all of you! I am taking attendance, answer courteously!" The teacher yelled. Austria giggled and glanced around the class….And so, School life had begun…Where exactly would this year take Austria?


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, that's all for today. Classes will begin regularly from tomorrow." Morooka concluded, walking away from his desk. Sirens could be heard and suddenly, "Attention Teachers," The announcement sounded. "Please come back as soon as possible to the staff room because there is an urgent staff meeting. In addition, all students return to your respective classrooms, and do not leave school until further notice." The announcement ended and Morooka looked in as bad a mood as ever, "Damn," He looked at the classroom, "Stay here until further notice…" he then stormed off, leaving the students to gossip.

"Ugh, I should've left when I had the chance!" Chie complained readily, which was quickly followed up by "Oh yeah, 'cause we had so much time to leave, Chie-Chan." Someone replied sarcastically. "Some kind of incident? I hear sirens near by." "Can you see? I can't see clearly with all of the fog…" "With all of the rain recently, the fog is heavy." "Oh, did you hear about the Female announcer being followed around by the paparazzi?" "You mean Yamano-san, right?" At which point Austria tuned out the senseless chatter.

"Hanamura-sama?" The brunette boy turned back to look at her, "Hmm?" Austria smiled, pushing away her long crimson-purple hair from her honey-brown eyes. "D-do you have work today? Err- That is to say…Are you doing anything after school?" The boy attempted to suppress a smirk, posing like he was thinking. "Pff…" He held back a laugh, "Austria-san, you don't have to use my last name. I've told you before." The girl blushed something furious, "B-but-" he stopped her, "But nothing! It's really weird being called 'Hanamura-sama' all of the time. Besides, we're friends." She nodded slowly, "O-okay Yosuke-sama." He laughed, "Anyways, No not today. They sent me a text and said they didn't need me today." She bit her lip, "Doyouwanttowalkhometogether!" she blurted out without pausing between words, making the sentence seem like one long jumbled slur. He paused, "I guess" he replied jokingly.

"Uh…That reminds me…What were you talking to that guy about before?" "The thing that occurs during rainy nights…" students continued to gossip. Austria quietly checked her pack while the announcement sounded, "Attention all students," She looked up towards the speaker as if she could see the one who spoke. "An incident has occurred inside the school district. The police have been dispatched to the road leading into the school. Your parents have been informed, and you are to leave the school immediately and orderly. I must also mention not to disturb the police." Austria looked at Yosuke, "What do you think happened?" he shrugged, "Like I'd know." She nodded, embarrassed. The duo walked towards the door when Yosuke spoke, "Oh wait, before we leave I need to do something." Austria nodded, "I'll wait in the hall then." She smiled and left the classroom.

Down the hall she spotted Ichijou, Kou and Nagase, Daisuke. She ran up to them quickly, "Kou-sama! Daisuke-san!" Austria called out. The boys turned, Kou smiling and Daisuke with his usual confused look. "Austria-Chan!" they replied in unison. Austria flashed a smile, "Heading home guys?" They nodded, "Yeah after we stop to get some food." She gave a thoughtful nod to Daisuke's words. "MY 'TRIAL OF THE DRAGON'!" came screeching out of Austria's homeroom. "What's goin' on in there?" Daisuke questioned. "I 'unno." She answered quickly. A loud thump was heard followed by what sounded like agonized groans. "K-Kou-sama, I'll have to just talk to you later! Will you be on IM?" The blue-haired boy nodded and waved, "Bye!"

Austria rushed back to her homeroom right as Amagi, Yukiko and Seta, Souji exited, followed closely by Chie. "The nerve of that guy!" Chie blabbed to the other two who seemed to be nervous now. Austria felt a sweat drop form. She cautiously stepped inside, "Y-Yosuke-sama?" The pained boy was jumping up and down in pain, "H-ha…I took a c-critical hit to the nads….Ughhh….." he tried to laugh, which only seemed to bring him more pain. "Uwaah! H-how can I help you?" She frantically asked, at a complete loss. "Let's just g-go…I'll be f-fine." She gently placed her shoulder under Yosuke's arm, but due to their height difference he'd have to lean a bit to actually lean on her. "I'm fine; l-let's go get my bike." He said, trying not to make her feel bad. They started out, they could finally go home.

Outside, Austria waited by the gates while Yosuke grabbed his bike. A creepy boy approached Yukiko. "You're Yukiko, huh. Do you want to go out and have some fun?" The Amagi girl seemed confused, "Wait, what?" Austria was both surprised and horrified at the boy's confidence. "Well, are you coming with me or not?" he replied impatiently. Yukiko shook her head slowly, "Umm…No." "FINE THEN!" he stormed off, leaving behind a confused crowd.

Yosuke approached Yukiko, "Hey, Yukiko-san, break another heart?" "I don't know what you're talking about…" Yukiko seemed sad and confused. "You broke my heart last year, coldly rejected. Sad really…" "I don't recall…" Yosuke seemed to perk up, "Really? Then do you want to go on a date?" Austria felt her heart sink, "I…don't think so." Yukiko replied, and Chie along with Souji began to walk away with Yukiko.

Yosuke sighed, "Of course, what should I expect?" he asked rhetorically. The Crimson haired girl stood silently, and Yosuke motioned to his handlebars, "Ready?" she nodded and hopped on. He peddled away, down the hill towards the more crowded part of Inaba. Soon they rounded a corner and saw a gathering of people.

"So, they let the high school students get out early because of this" "How is it possible to be caught on an antenna" "I kind of wanted to see…" "Ugh, you're just barely too late. They just took the body down a few minutes ago." The housewives continued to gossip, "I swear they're worse than teenage girls…" Austria thought.

Yosuke grimaced, "Hey…Let's just go home, I don't feel like hanging out so much today….Sorry." he spoke dimly, peddling away from the scene. Austria frowned, not seen by Yosuke. "Yeah…" He took her home, which wasn't far from Souji's, although she didn't know that yet. "Bye Yosuke-sama, See you t-tomorrow." He sensed her dull-emotion. "Hey, I'll pick you up in the morning, okay?" He smiled before riding off.


End file.
